Winter has arrived in North Texas and slipping into a luxuriously warm hot tub is a great way to relax in the cool evening air. However, relaxing and unwinding after the day’s work shouldn’t include troubleshooting problems with your hot tub! Read more to learn about common hot tub issues that can be prevented or solved without too much hassle. And always remember, the team at 1Stop Pool is happy to answer any questions or suggest solutions.
Regular and preventative maintenance will help you avoid clogged filter issues resulting from debris, dirt, and other types of blockages. A clean filter is key to a spa’s optimal performance. Even body oil residue can result in blocked filters and de-greasing agent may be necessary.
When a clogged filter occurs, you will often see a error code displayed on your control panel, indicating that water is unable to effectively flow. Often, your hot tub will shut down. As filters begin to become clogged, the debris, grime, and dirt causing the blockage can’t be removed, which results in other problems that can damage the swimming pool’s pump. Keeping a regular cleaning schedule for your filter is the best way to avoid problems.
On occasion, replacement filters may be necessary to return your spa to optimal function.
The ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) or residual current device (RCD) shuts off when it detects electrical current using an unsafe path. It is designed to protect you from the risk of an electrical fault that could result in electrocution. The device is usually set to be sensitive to even extremely low electrical currents in the name of safety, but this sensitivity can also result in the breaker tripping for small issues like water in the ozonator.
A heater failure may cause your spa to struggle to produce warm water. These failures are often a result of heating element corrosion resulting from low ph in the water supply. Having low pH (below 7.0) in your hot tub’s water for an extended amount of time will cause damage to the heating element, resulting in tripping the GFCI breaker. Keeping your water chemistry balanced properly and regularly can prevent this issue. It is important to also check the filter and thermostat for damage.
If you are having water chemistry issues, be sure to check for leaky seals. Leaky seals can be prevented by regularly replacing old o-rings and pump seals. It’s also important to ensure that the filter is clean. Water leakage and buildup may be occurring around the spa equipment if it goes unchecked for an extended amount of time, which can cause an electrical short.
If your pump is malfunctioning, you may hear humming or hammering noises. Worn out bearings, broken seals, or leaky water are indications of problems that can be prevented with regular maintenance.
Poor water circulation can be caused by not running the pumps long enough. For optimum flow, you should run your pumps for one hour for every 10 degrees of temperature. Water chemistry problems (PH imbalance) causes corrosion on the pump seals and negatively affects circulation. The better that the water is circulating the cleaner the spa, so make sure to check filters and wipe the spa walls for grime to prevent biofilms from growing and clogging the lines.
A burnt-out circuit board can be a costly repair, and is the ultimate consequence of poor hot tub maintenance. Routine maintenance is the best way to avoid expensive issues such as circuit board malfunction. Loose heater terminal connection screws can vibrate over time and loosen the connection with the heater, resulting in damage to the circuit board. The board builds up heat and is overloaded, causing in irreparable damage and an expensive replacement. Components failure is marked by burn marks, cracks or melting. Most systems will generate an error code if the circuit board is having issues.